Doctor Who? It’s Matt Smith!

DOCTOR Who fans prepare yourselves, the first full outing of the all new Time Lord is upon us.

DOCTOR Who fans prepare yourselves, the first full outing of the all new Time Lord is upon us. It may be the 11th time an actor has taken on the iconic role of the Doctor, but Matt Smith, at 27 the youngest so far, hasn’t let that stop him creating his very own vision.

Even though he’s initially a little tentative about revealing quite what that vision is.

“That’s a difficult question – it’s very difficult to judge any art in the middle of it. I think my Doctor’s a bit more reckless,” says Matt, in black skinny jeans, black shirt and a leather jacket.

“He’s a thrill seeker, addicted to time travel. He is the mad buffoon genius who saves the world because he’s got a great heart, spirit and soul, but he doesn’t suffer fools. I hope these things come across, but I think I’ve also injected a bit of my own personality into the role.”

And if by that he means being in a state of hyperactivity, it will make for interesting viewing, as Matt can’t sit still. If he’s not changing positions, or crooking one leg over the other, he’s pushing his hands through his hair or shaking his knee.

“I approach the Doctor like I approach any other part,” he says. “I investigate the history of the man and his life, his personality. But with the doctor, he’s so multi-faceted, he’s never only one thing, he’s everything. He’s not A or B, he’s A to Z in two lines. He can be anyone, he can be anything, so he asks for complete invention.”

Matt takes great pride in being responsible for the ‘look’ of the new Doctor.

“We dismissed a long leather coat, a long blue coat and some short punky stuff! But then one day I brought in my braces and a tweed jacket and it went from there,” he says.

“Soon we had the outfit, but something felt like it was missing and I asked if I could try on a bow tie. We agreed it worked and it’s sort of become the signature of my Doctor now.”

Doctor Who has been part of British culture for nearly 50 years and, since its successful return in 2005, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant have made their own marks on the Time Lord.

Yet Matt appears unperturbed by the pressure.

“These things are as intimidating as you allow them to be,” he says. “The more you do something the less daunting and intimidating it is. Plus, I couldn’t have inherited the role from a nicer man.”

Prior to Doctor Who, his most noted credits on his CV included Party Animals and Moses Jones and though the first episode is yet to air, he’s already had a taster as to how life will change.

“Doctor Who has such a vast public, people are very aware of it, so your day to day life changes significantly,” he says. “If you go to Tesco, it’s not quite the same as going into Tesco a year ago. It’s just something you adapt to.

“But in terms of family, they’re thrilled, because it changes their life.

“My mum goes into work and she’s ‘Doctor Who’s mum’ and it’s mad.”

Matt reveals his mum texted him a week before his audition to say he should play the Doctor.

“So, she was delighted I got the part,” he says laughing, before recalling how difficult it was to keep the news to himself for 10 weeks.

“It was quite weird news to receive,” he says on finding out he’d won the role. “It was a piece of information I couldn’t share with anyone, so it didn’t feel tangible. My heart was just exploding with joy and excitement.

“I actually ended up walking round London listening to Sinatra on my iPod.”

Only a show like Doctor Who could warrant a whole show announcing the new Doctor, at which time Matt was in Brazil.

“My phone went mad – the bill was huge!” he says laughing. “But you’re in awe.”

With the first episode about to air, Matt recalls the early days of the shoot, saying: “It felt like being in a twilight zone because there were so many people watching and dozens of paparazzi!” he says.

“We were also surrounded by Doctor Who fans and every time I had to nip to the toilet they followed me. I’ve now learnt this is the norm on Doctor Who!”

As for when he first felt like the Doctor, he says, “It was a weird experience, taking on this character, this icon.

“Eventually, it becomes part of your routine, along with what you’re going to have for lunch. So I suppose it’s at that point, when you stop thinking about it.”

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